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Topic: Return To Reservoir Hole Part Two (Read 3612 times)

Thought it best to start a second part as the original was getting unwieldy and I can splodge on loads more photographs.

As part of Winter maintenance we had a tidy up at Chain Chamber. Willie's redundant hosepipe sprinkler system was removed and the long length of hosepipe moved to Jill's Dig. The catchment tub was left in situ at Pulsation Aven and can be used for additional washing on the way out. In digging in the floor of Chain Chamber I discovered the secret of Willies Washtub. He had built a cement dam and basin for water catchment then buried it in boulders. We have utilized the basin to extend the piped water right to the end of Jill's Dig. It means we can wash off at the dig and keep the area reasonably clean. We have also fitted the conveyor belting all along the 15m dig to ease transportation of the dig tray which kept getting stuck. The convey belt is thin lightweight belt used in the food industry and replaced regularly. It appears to be quite expensive so thank you Oscar Meyer of Chard for that. ( It gets dumped anyway I think ). Water from the pipe gurgled away merrily at the end of the dig and the draught was quite fresh. So we are set up for digging having had to postpone work at Vurley as it still has %3 CO2 half way down the cave.

Willie's cement pool revealed.

Looking for the stream in Chain Chamber.

Conveyor belt and hose ready to go into the dig.

Cleaning up the dig area.

Getting the belt in.

This conveyor belt is perfect stuff for these sort of digs.

Some photos of the black manganese stal in Jill's Slither. Actually awkward stuff to photograph as too much light makes them look grey. Too little and you cant see them.

Wish I had thought of doing this earlier on (about 10 years ago when I first dug here). It was one of those Eureka moments. Willie Stanton makes no real reference to this lower set up but there is much about the hose pipe (we removed) from the auto flush in Pulsation Aven about 30 m up the passage. That delivered a pulsed flush through a garden sprinkler. We now have a continous flowing set up although it is very much weather dependent. the exciting thing is that we are only using a fraction of the stream so with a bigger pipe we might actually start to flush mud out of the dig. By the way it's Oscar Mayer (not Meyer) and they (ie the guy in engineering) has already given us another 20m which is probably in Cutlers Green dig. You can comfortably transport a 5m roll of it and this will fit in a kit bag.

It was a really exciting moment (for us diggers) when I put the hose pipe in the dam and a minute or two later Nick (OR) reports the water is flowing. Because of the vertical range we have got a reasonable pressure too.

Well its photo splodge time again. I actually think Mendip diggers are getting soft. A goodly size team went down Sunday but only managed three tubs as it was cold and wet. We initially had a team of four for yesterday but only me and a lurgy infected Mr O' Doc turned up. He had lost his voice and I wasn't going to miss that. We took down sand, cement, a load more pipe, a battery drill my camera and a meat pie. We increased the height of Willie's little dam cementing in our two new pipes. The smaller pipe leads to the dig chamber and is fitted with a spray head which is left running. We secured the top of the conveyor belt and joined it to the next section in the dig. Peter went up to the end of the dig to pull it all tight and do a bit of digging. With just two of us we could not use the tub. Peter said he could see the mud filled tube continuing with water draining away. Lets face it this is the last known ongoing dig anywhere in Reservoir Hole. Also, although a bit damp, its not a place my arm will get broken or my little handy squashed. A good wash off at the end means we can exit the cave clean.

Hi. Reservoir Hole closes to visitors from October to March so that the roosting bats have minimal disturbance. We use the down time for maintenance work and fit in a bit of digging along the way. Currently part of the maintenance is tidying up the lower part of the old cave in the area the dig is situated. Planks of wood etc from the abandoned Silo dig are being taken out at the moment. Contact us again in March and I am sure we can ( or your local club ) sort out a proper visitors trip for you. Sorry its a bit of a wait.

I am sorting something out elsewhere but now have Glanvill's rotten virus so not up to digging. I will leave a new dig tray at Martins for Peter to collect. It should be easier to empty. With the new belt it should work with two diggers but the tray will need double handling up the slope. Aim to beat the 30 or so loads we have done before. Oh and let me know about Thurs or Fri after Christmas. ( Or anyone else who wants some post Christmas exercise. ).

Mr O' Doc and I went to Chain Chamber this week. Me to play with new flash gun and him to poke the Jill's sump with drain rods. The Chain Chamber images appeared in the photo section of the forum but here is one showing Mr O' Doc scarpering off having got bored with my dithering. ( must take glasses next time )

After dithering I went to the sump to listen to much grunting and sloshing which in the end achieved very little.

So we really need to wait until water levels drop assumedly signaled when the upper rising dries up. In the meantime it may pay to trace the stream feeding the hosepipe as it does not reappear anywhere in Jill's Slither. Another plan might be to remove the roof above the sump.

Anyway 4 days filming at Fairy Cave Quarry next week so probably back in 2 weeks.